Providing the cognitively-impaired student with an easy and fun way of learning and organizing tasks relies on the use of orthosis (the correction of mental or physical distortion) devices rather than prosthesis (replacement of missing body parts) devices. In other words, the learning disabled student is provided with prompts, cues, or other indicia which minimize or simplify a particular mental or physical distortion experienced by the student in order to facilitate the student's response to a particular task without the use of medical devices coupled to the student.
Desk-top personal computers provide the ideal technologic opportunity for implementation of an assistive device to enable cognitively or physically disabled students to accomplish an unlimited number of tasks. Examples of this are the software packages provided by Laureate Learning Systems, Inc., of Winooski, Vermont. Laureate Learning Systems, Inc. provide talking software that allows the disabled student to develop abilities, develop language skills, treat aphasia (a total or partial loss of the power of using or understanding words, usually caused by brain damage or injury) and traumatic brain injury, and reading difficulties. Any computer system having a keyboard, mouse and/or touch-screen can support these software packages.
Other exemplary software packages dedicated to the development of learning disabled students is provided in the TECH-NJ Technology, Educators, & Children with Disabilities-New Jersey, Spring 1994, Vol. 5, No. 1.
The closest art available is a specially designed cognitive orthotic software system sold under the trademark "Essential Steps" by the Assignee of the present invention. This software system provides users with acquired brain injury and other cognitive impairments a comprehensive, easy-to-use computer that, among other things: manages time, schedules appointments and activities, budgets and manages money, provides a daily journal in an easily reviewable format, logs and reviews telephone calls, maintains a personal telephone directory and supports self-care and personal grooming. This system uses on-screen cues and directions, guided sequences, single keystroke functions, arousal alert, voice output for cueing and voice input for responding. However, this system, among other things, is not designed for assisting cognitively impaired students with school-related activities, allows the student only a limited number (and a limited size) of files to save, and does not allow the student to partition tasks into steps having their own completion dates. Finally, this system does not use a graphical user interface for simplifying the user response to avoid having the user memorize command strings.